🏆 Tribunal Judge, river defender, and 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize Winner. Today, we celebrate Yuvelis Morales 🇨🇴

Yuvelis was born in Puerto Wilches, Santander, Colombia, a town she describes as defined by water. The daughter of a fisherman, she was raised beside the Magdalena River, and when that river was threatened, she raised her voice.

In 2019, the Colombian government approved fracking pilot projects in her hometown, backed by Ecopetrol and ExxonMobil. Yuvelis co-founded AguaWil, a youth movement that said: No to fracking. Yes to the river.

In 2022, after many threats to her life, at just 21 years old, she had to flee her home in the middle of the night, with an escort and a bulletproof vest. But even from exile in France, she kept speaking. She addressed the Colombian Congress and met President Macron.

Yuvelis serves as a Judge at the International Rights of Nature Tribunal. She has participated in key hearings: the Local Tribunal in Corrientes, Argentina on forest monocultures, and the judges’ delegation visit to Vaca Muerta on fracking, because the Rights of Nature include the rights of those who defend her.

The Goldman Environmental Prize is the world’s leading award for grassroots environmental activists. In 2026, that prize belongs to Yuvelis Natalia Morales Blanco. From the International Rights of Nature Tribunal, we say: Thank you, Yuvelis!

The Magdalena River keeps flowing, and Yuvelis keeps standing.

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